It's true: Alexander loves to run the football. It is not the only identity of the team, but it is one of the factors that will always hold true to the program.
On Friday, the Bulldogs hosted Boerne Champion and played without one of their star running backs, who had an impressive performance during their Week 2 road trip.
Gael Rubio was suited up but never took the field against Boerne Champion; he was working through a sore hamstring. Rubio was coming off a 28-carry, 188-yard, and three-touchdown performance in Week 2, so for him not to play, the responsibility fell on Joe Fernandez.
Fernandez is no stranger to the field, though; head coach Edwin Garcia and the Bulldogs' staff know how much Fernandez offers to the team. Third-string running back Brennan Kisslinger also had some significant touches in the game.
Although the contest ended in a 25-10 loss to Boerne Champion, Fernandez and his ability to run the ball were the highlights of the night.
"All week long we had a feeling that Gael was not going to be able to give it a go, so I had to prepare," Fernandez said. "I know what I can do and who I can be, and running the ball is not a new concept. I rely heavily on connecting with my offensive line; they do the work up front, and I go from there."
Speaking on the offensive line, one of their stars, left tackle Will Omenski, went down in the second quarter with what looked like a knee injury. Either it was rolled on or it was tweaked. That was a little bit of a hold-your-breath moment, since Omenski is a huge reason why the offensive line has success.
Fabian Dillaha had to come in to finish off the second quarter. Omenski would reenter the game and eventually finish, but Fernandez knows that no matter who is playing on the line, he trusts them.
"Fabian is one of those guys where you can put him wherever and have a great feeling that he will get the job done no matter what," Fernandez said. "I trust every single guy that plays offensive line, and it's because we've been playing ball together since we were very small. When you play for so long, they become built-in best friends and brothers."
Before the game even started, there was a very meaningful pregame celebration on the field. September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Organizations honor children and survivors affected by pediatric cancer to raise awareness and continue the research and treatment of the disease. Football teams within the city of Laredo are wearing yellow ribbons on their helmets.
Many families affected by childhood cancer took the field with banners and made their way to the Alexander bench, where they were greeted with gift baskets and a round of applause. The whole time this was going on, Fernandez kept reminding his teammates who to play the game for—the kids.
"It was a night of celebration for these kids; I was playing for them. My older brother had cancer. I know he is an angel now and is watching over me; he is who I play for. I was emotional pregame, and I just kept thinking about my mom and how much she loves her kids. I hope I made her proud," Fernandez said.
Alexander, sticking to their ways of running the football, opened up the playbook, which included the wildcat formation. You don't see that very often in high school ball; you might not even see it in college anymore. The wildcat formation might be considered a little old school, but it got the job done.
Of course, Fernandez was the one standing under center during the formation, and he mentioned that having that in the playbook or the back pocket for many players is what keeps their team unique on all levels.
"We are able to move up and down the field when we use it. We scored a touchdown off it, and I have just gotten used to it," Fernandez said.
One of Fernandez's touchdowns came in wildcat, and it felt like the senior could have had a few more touchdowns in the contest, but many Bulldogs' drives were plagued with penalties. They got into many situations where it would be either second or third down and short, and then the yellow flag would fly for holding or a false start. It felt very undisciplined for a team that has proven in the past how well organized they can be.
The penalties were ultimately drive killers, but Fernandez never once pointed the finger or blamed anyone for the penalties. He believes that lashing out and being angry at other players creates a toxic environment. Instead, he approached others and gave constant reminders on positive reinforcement on how to prevent the situation from happening.
Fernandez is also spreading the positive reinforcement to his quarterback, Karlo Tenorio. The transition of power from Jeremey Gabrillo to Tenorio has not been difficult, and Fernandez just wants to allow Tenorio to do his job. Even when mistakes happen on the field, Fernandez wants to make sure the junior quarterback feels supported.
"We have made mistakes on the field, but we have the chance to turn it all around. I really am proud of how Karlo has responded to adversity, how he took over an offense when he was needed to," Fernandez said. "And right now this nondistrict schedule is really preparing us for the competition that lies in front of us. It's going to be an intense battle to the top."
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